This combined effort seven track was recorded last summer at Inshriach House near Aviemore, at the sadly now defunct Insider Festival.
It comprises efforts by several Scottish artists, mainly in the sensitive or conscious folk end of the musical spectrum. First track ‘My Ageing Heart Is Slowly Killed’ starts a bit thinly but builds quite nicely, David Thomas Broughton’s voice a bit tremulous but ultimately rewarding, after 7+ minutes. It begins with sparse guitar, followed by Broughton, with a bit of similarity to Wild Beasts vocalist Hayden Whatshisname. He brings in further percussion, then synths then more echo and backing vocals, then settles down into a further acoustic reverie. He is trying to evoke something, “proud of the life and language I’ve never use”, is this about Gaelic heritage, “ultimately sad about the truth” – hmm, definitely some issues, perhaps he should come up and see Betty sometime…
More to the point is next track ‘Summer Is For Going Places’ by Jonnie Common. Echoed banjo, other percussion, an echoed beat and then a jaunty vocal with harmonising, all quite sublime and summery – well it was recorded last summer. It evokes far-off places, not specifically mentioned, and includes a bizarre vocal breakdown at the bridge, before further musings on travel – a treat, really.
Next up, ‘Valley of Death’ from Sparrow and the Workshop, is pretty confessional, more of a torch song with simple guitar chords, Jill Sutherland’s voice sounding vulnerable and strident both at once. She deserves to be heard, this is a unique sound and a serious contender to Lauren Maybury for female voice of the year (Betty notwithstanding of course, possessing a full set of pipes, and the rest, readers…
Track 4 by Sioban Wilson is more floaty and surreal, just acoustic accompaniment, a tale of love lost – and a barren woman, pretty stark. More of a fable than a pop song – this is pretty deep and dark, with some dialogue with god, or not – and another unique voice, worthy of a far wider audience as well.
Next up, a short effort by Jonnie Common – ‘So And So’ appears to be about cancer, and has some clever and concise lyrics, pretty strong for a minute and a half.
Then, back to Sparrow and the Workshop, a longer track, a hard rockingduet – ‘Chalkhill Blue’ seems again to be a lament… whether for the living or the dead, not sure, but builds up to some effective chords and a languid guitar solo
#7 is back to Jonny Common, a confessional number about his current life – almost a rap, in what sounds like an Edinburgh accent.
Last track hands things back to Broughton, running at over 10mins, a bit heavy and guaranteed to drive the average punters away but perks up towards the end, so if you can go the distance prepare to be impressed.
All in all this is a varied and quite surprising release from a discerning label.